Daytona International Speedway News and Notes

The PCA Club Racing Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport Trophy East series wrapped up its second successful year over the weekend at the iconic Daytona International Speedway in Porsche Club of America (PCA)’s Oktoberfast 2017 event hosted by PCA Zone 12.

Seventeen drivers kicked off the weekend during Sprint 1 Saturday afternoon with newcomer and polesitter Mortiz Kranz placing first overall and first in the Pro class with the fastest lap time of one minute, 57.531 seconds in his No. 21 Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR entry.

Series veteran David Baum, representing the Western Michigan PCA Region in his No. 24 Autometrics Motorsports entry, passed Championship class competitor Alejandro Galindo to gain first place. Baum also recently nabbed a victory at NOLA Motorsports Park in September during the 80-minute enduro race.

“We went in there in Turn 2 and got through clean and I said ‘Man, I’m just going to leave everything on the track,’” Baum said. “I just drove my heart out and got to keep that [Galindo’s] No. 17 car behind me, and I did it. It felt really good. The car’s handling; it’s really fast.”

NOLAsport’s Galindo, representing the Mardi Gras PCA Region, placed second with his teammate John Crosby, also of the Mardi Gras PCA Region, coming in third in the Championship class.

In the Masters class, which is for drivers ages 57 and older, Crosby won first place with Autometrics Motorsports’ Charlie Craig coming in second in his No. 76 entry and TOPP Racing’s Richard McIntosh behind him in third place.

“I haven’t been here in 10 years, and the NOLAsport guys did a great job at getting the car set up and getting me ready to race,” Crosby said. “We did good, and couldn’t have done any better. We’re thrilled.”

Kranz led the race flag-to-flag with Bruce McKee, who represents the Alabama PCA Region, coming in second place in the Pro class and Autometrics’ Noël Brown placing third in his No. 33 Clubsport entry.

Sprint 1 Driver Quotes:

Moritz Kranz (winner, Pro class) – “Yesterday was my first time at this track. I need to get used to the banking, but in the end, I think I did quite good.”

Bruce McKee (second, Pro class) – “I feel good, it was a good race. I was behind [Alejandro] Galindo, [David] Baum, and [Adam] Merzon. They had a good battle going, and I just didn’t have anything for them. They ran great.”

Noël Brown (third, Pro class) – “It’s my first time here and I’m overwhelmed – this place is like the colosseum of race tracks! It’s been a blast being here. Autometrics did a great job on the car. We’re still having car trouble, but we’re trying to work our way through it for the rest of the weekend. Hopefully it will give us some good results. Another big thanks to Autometrics and to everyone else out there supporting us.”

David Baum (winner, Championship) – “We went in there in Turn 2 and got through clean and I said ‘Man, I’m just going to leave everything on the track.’ I just drove my heart out and got to keep that [Galindo’s] No. 17 car behind me, and I did it. It felt really good. The car’s handling; it’s really fast. Autometrics did a great job setting the car up.”

John Crosby (third, Championship, winner, Masters) – “It was awesome. I haven’t been here in 10 years, and the NOLAsport guys did a great job at getting the car set up and getting me ready to race. We did good, and couldn’t have done any better. We’re thrilled.”

SPRINT 2

During Saturday afternoon’s Sprint 2, Muehlner Motorsports America’s Kranz once again led pole-to-pole to win his second race of the day in the No. 21 Clubsport MR entry.

The Championship class repeated its 1-2-3 finish with Baum, Galindo and Crosby. Baum’s fastest lap time during Sprint 2 was 1:58.809.

None of the drivers have more on the line this weekend than Baum and Galindo. The two are battling for second and third place overall in the Championship banquet with Baum leading by just nine points.

Galindo was ahead of Baum for the first half of the 30-minute sprint, but Baum managed to pass Galindo on the front straight and stay ahead – beating him to the finish line by 8.415 seconds.

In the series’ Pro class, Adam Merzon, representing the Connecticut Valley PCA Region with Speedsport Tuning, got his first podium of the weekend, placing second above BGB Motorsports’ Bruce McKee.

Crosby once again dominated the Masters class with McIntosh placing second and Craig placing third. McIntosh passed Craig in the final few laps of the race to get his best finish of the day.

Sprint 2 Driver Quotes:

Moritz Kranz (winner, Pro class) – “I’m doing the enduro Sunday alone, so I was pushing the whole time to get a feeling for the shift and the car, so it’s not like I was just on cruise control. I’m ready for tomorrow.”

Bruce McKee (third, Pro class) – “That one was a little messier than the first one for me. Seemed to have a problem out there keeping my car in a straight line, but thank goodness there was situational awareness out there in the cars around me, because they were able to get around when I was going backward. Luckily, Adam [Merzon] and John [Crosby] were paying attention. Other than my self-caused incidents, it was a good race. I’m glad we’re racing with the guys we’re racing with.”

John Crosby (third, Championship, winner, Masters) – “That was another good race. I closed down on my teammate there at the end, but you know, I wasn’t going to pull a Louis Hamilton and take him out. Congrats to NOLAsport. We had a two-three finish on the podium; first in the masters again, so can’t do any better than that.”

ENDURO

The PCA Club Racing Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport Trophy East series wrapped up its 2017 season with an exciting enduro race Sunday at Daytona International Speedway with series veteran Baum sweeping the weekend.

Drivers enjoyed breezy, sunny weather during the 80-minute race, and families and friends cheered the competitors on during the last podium of the year.

The second-place Championship class position was tight between Galindo and Baum, but after Baum won three victories this weekend, he clinched the second-place spot behind Tennessee PCA Region member Curt Swearingin.

NOLAsport’s Crosby came in second place in the Championship class with ACI Motorsports’ David Hurt coming in third after working his way up from the back of the back. This marked his first podium of the weekend.

“I feel awesome,” Hurt said. “I had kind of a bad start and I put myself in last place actually. But I thought to myself, ‘Well let’s just have a good time’ and sure enough, it worked out.”

In the Pro class, Kranz once again dominated winning first place, plus first overall. Father and daughter BGB Motorsports duo Bruce and Sydney McKee came in second place – this race marked Sydney’s first official event in their No. 87 MR entry and she finished out the stint for her dad.

“It took me awhile to settle in, but once I got into a rhythm, it was fun,” Sydney said. “[Noël] Brown was chasing me and then they told me it was the last lap but once I crossed, my team said, ‘Wait! One more lap to go!’ I told myself to keep digging and get to that checkered.”

Brown rounded out the Pro class podium in third after a hard-fought battle between Masters class contender McIntosh.

“It was a great race – a lot of fun, a lot of work,” Brown said. “It was overtime the entire time. Richard [McIntosh] is the last guy you want behind you. I was hoping he would slip, but he doesn’t slip up. There was no break. I love Daytona, it’s been a great time. Truly, this has been a life experience. Great job to PCA staff. This is my rookie season and the car is great, and it’s a great way to access racing.”

Crosby dominated the Masters class this weekend after sweeping both sprints and Sunday’s enduro. Louisiana PCA Region member McIntosh came in second in the Masters class – his third podium of the weekend.

The 2017 season ended on a high note following the Championship Celebration at Daytona’s Goodyear 500 Club Sunday evening.

Enduro Driver Quotes

Moritz Kranz (winner, Pro class) – “It was fun. This car is awesome. I drove it in Asia, I drove it in Germany and in Europe. I pushed hard and it was a great race.”

Sydney McKee (second, Pro class) – “It took me awhile to settle in, but once I got into a rhythm, it was fun. [Noël] Brown was chasing me and then they told me it was the last lap but once I crossed, my team said, ‘Wait! One more lap to go!’ I told myself to keep digging and get to that checkered.”

Noël Brown (third, Pro class) – “It was a great race – a lot of fun, a lot of work. It was overtime the entire time. Richard [McIntosh] is the last guy you want behind you. I was hoping he would slip, but he doesn’t slip up. There was no break. I love Daytona, it’s been a great time. Truly, this has been a life experience. Great job to PCA staff. This is my rookie season and the car is great, and it’s a great way to access racing.”

David Baum (winner, Championship) – “Man, this is great. This is fantastic! When I was coming down here, I knew it was tight between myself and Alejandro [Galindo] for second place in the Championship class and I just said, ‘I’m going to leave everything on the track.’ And that’s what I did. I worked my tail off, the car worked great, the team was awesome. I just drove my butt off and I feel great. What a way to end the season!”

John Crosby (second, Championship, winner, Masters) – “I feel pretty good. It’s been a great season. The NOLAsport guys are awesome. It couldn’t have been any better. I wish I had done more races but it was a great season. Thanks to my crew – John, Ben, James, Jason, Lloyd and my wife, Michelle and our dogs! She’s supported me throughout all the season. I loved having my cheering section at every race.”

David Hurt (third, Championship) – “I feel awesome. I had kind of a bad start and I put myself in last place actually. But I thought to myself, ‘Well let’s just have a good time’ and sure enough, it worked out. I got behind Alejandro [Galindo] and he helped me go really fast. It turned out great.”

Richard McIntosh (second, Masters) – “I’m really excited. There was some great racing out there today. Noël [Brown] was on fire! I would come up behind him and he was clean and crisp. He made me work extremely hard. I’m pleased – three weekends in a Clubsport and trophies at every single one of those weekends. TOPP Racing is terrific and our pit stop was perfect. I couldn’t ask for anything more!”